Work resumes on Masauko Chipembere Highway
Having stalled for some time, the new contractors of the second phase of Masauko Chipembere Highway in Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre, have resumed work, according to the Blantyre City Council (BCC).
The council says the second phase of the road will be completed by May 2013.
The road is just one of the many projects that the Council is currently implementing.
BCC director of planning, Costly Chanza saidlast week the project, which stalled for a year, was delayed due to some technical problems, including fuel and cement shortages.
Construction works of phase II of the project started in May last year, bringing hopes of improved transportation as well as reduced traffic congestion during peak hours.
The project was supposed to take six months to December 2011.
“We met with the ministry of local government, the Roads Authority and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (Jica), among others, and the contractors agreed to go back on site and resume construction,†said Chanza, adding the rehabilitation of the Chipembere Highway will improve accessibility to Limbe.
He said as one way of improving access to Limbe, BCC will embark on another project to construct a dual carriage way which stretches from Maselema in Blantyre to Chiradzulu turn-off so that people drive from Zomba, Chiradzulu and other surrounding areas with ease.
Apart from the two projects, Chanza also said to ease traffic problems that the city is currently facing with minibuses, plans are underway to build bus terminals at a land that has been allocated to them.
“We will come up with a modern bus terminal like that of Park Station in Johannesburg, South Africa where buses and minibuses can terminate and start from.
“We are currently looking at people who could help us with this ambitious project, possibly through a Public Private Partnership (PPP). We hope that this terminal will be able to hold big buses as well as minibuses. It will also have other modern facilities, including restaurants,†he said.
Chanza said the Council has had a number of problems with minibus operators in Limbe and have been discussing with them on how the situation can be handled.
“We are looking at a situation where Limbe too can have a terminal. You see most minibuses come from all corners around the city and converge in Limbe,†he said.
Chanza said they need minibuses to have designated routes and this is supposed to be done by other players such as National Road Safety Council of Malawi (NRSCM) and Road Traffic Directorate (RTD).
